Roman Reigns: The Next Paul Heyman Guy?

[OYDK]

So I've been having this thought for a while now, and a post from another member of this site finally led me to creating this thread. Anyway, to start let me say that personally, I'm of the mindset that Roman Reigns would make a much better heel than he would a face. His look, his mannerisms, the way he talks, even his build is perfect for the cocky heel role and I think he could seriously get the crowd to hate him with Paul Heyman by his side. Unlike Stone Cold Steve Austin or to a lesser extent, Dean Ambrose, Reigns does not have the mic skills at this point to get the crowd behind him as a tweener face, so why not make him a monster heel and put him with Paul Heyman?

There are a lot of intangibles in the scenario I'm about to map out, but here me out here. IF Brock Lesnar decides not to sign with the WWE after Wrestlemania, where would that leave Paul Heyman? Would he just leave? Come back in an authority role? Or take on another superstar? Imo Paul Heyman is much too good at what he does to just put him out to pasture, arguably he's been cutting the greatest promos of his entire career. Soooo again, why not put him with the guy who has everything except the mic skills? Isn't Roman Reigns the "prototypical" Heyman guy after all?

I'm just going to lay it out there... at Mania, Paul Heyman should turn on Brock Lesnar and embrace Roman Reigns. This would be one of the biggest swerves in history and it would make complete sense (at least to me). It keeps Heyman on TV for many more years to come and it completely eliminates the promo problem that WWE faces with Reigns. The reasoning could be "nothing personal, just business" meaning Heyman screwed Lesnar because Lesnar was leaving and he needed to "look out for himself."

Sure it would eliminate the possibility of Reigns as the "face" of the company but I don't see that panning out anyway tbh... I don't see many problems with this but maybe you guys do?

Would you want to see Roman Reigns as the next Heyman guy?

If so, does a swerve at Mania appeal to you?

 

[snazzy]

I think this is a very good alternative for Reigns. If Reigns cannot either a) hone his mic skills or b) get the crowd behind him as a dominant ass-kicking face, then this seems the only logical option left. What is really selling me on this idea is the Wrestlemania swerve. If they build Reigns in the right way then I don't think many people at all will be expecting this, especially with the reports that have been coming out for months that the WWE want him as the next big face of the company.

Personally I'd rather see him as he was back when the Shield were about, but I certainly wouldn't mind monster heel Reigns, the idea has been thrown about on these forums quietly and I genuinely think it has wheels simply because it makes so much sense in the context of everything.

 

[Farese12]

[YOUTUBE]watch?v=tlnugYBw2ng[/YOUTUBE]

Just take a minute and listen to how poor this promo is. .He is another brock lesnar in my mind. Limited moveset but a huge powerhouse that has the look of a beast and the look of a top guy but just cannot tell a story on the mic for shit. Last night's promo at TLC is a perfect example. Other then the little mess up on the one word how many people actually thought of him as a badass after that?

 

[ThePurge]

i was thinking about this last night actually. many of us believe that brock lesnar will leave after mania, but why wait until he looses the title at mania???
when brock lesnar left back in 04 i believe, he was the wwe champ, but he didnt loose it at mania, he lost it to eddie guerrero at no mercy and then had his gohome match with goldberg.

so what i see possibly happening is that lesner could very well lose the title at the royal rumble. and it makes sense because this match is being duubed as "their final battle", and john cena's very character is about "overcoming all odds."
If you still dont buy in to what i saying, well think about this.

Cena is the face of the company, Roman is guy who will be the next face, so the match at Wrestlemania should be CENA VS ROMAN for the title. and the title being "the torch" that will be passed down.

So at the rumble i see lesnar loosing the title, then roman winning the rumble. Roman and brock have a short fued to establish roman as a top guy. Roman wins the fued, then paul heyman makes an offer to roman. Roman becomes heel and says he made a deal with "the devil himself" and alligns himself with paul heyman. ROMAN enters a fued with cena for wrestlemania. WINS WRESTLEMANIA, and the RAW AFTER WRESTLEMANIA john cena is so frustrated and confronts roman.

Then we get what we have all been waitng for. John cena says that he has made a deal with "an even bigger devil" ENTER THE AUTHORTY. cena becomes heel, and we have anmazing fued between john cena as a heel vs Roman reigns as a face.the DOUBLE TURN allowing roman to become the new face and cena to step back.
the lat part might be a little too outlandish, but in general What do you guys think?

 

[L@RISANO]

So I've been having this thought for a while now, and a post from another member of this site finally led me to creating this thread. Anyway, to start let me say that personally, I'm of the mindset that Roman Reigns would make a much better heel than he would a face. His look, his mannerisms, the way he talks, even his build is perfect for the cocky heel role and I think he could seriously get the crowd to hate him with Paul Heyman by his side. Unlike Stone Cold Steve Austin or to a lesser extent, Dean Ambrose, Reigns does not have the mic skills at this point to get the crowd behind him as a tweener face, so why not make him a monster heel and put him with Paul Heyman?

There are a lot of intangibles in the scenario I'm about to map out, but here me out here. IF Brock Lesnar decides not to sign with the WWE after Wrestlemania, where would that leave Paul Heyman? Would he just leave? Come back in an authority role? Or take on another superstar? Imo Paul Heyman is much too good at what he does to just put him out to pasture, arguably he's been cutting the greatest promos of his entire career. Soooo again, why not put him with the guy who has everything except the mic skills? Isn't Roman Reigns the "prototypical" Heyman guy after all?

I'm just going to lay it out there... at Mania, Paul Heyman should turn on Brock Lesnar and embrace Roman Reigns. This would be one of the biggest swerves in history and it would make complete sense (at least to me). It keeps Heyman on TV for many more years to come and it completely eliminates the promo problem that WWE faces with Reigns. The reasoning could be "nothing personal, just business" meaning Heyman screwed Lesnar because Lesnar was leaving and he needed to "look out for himself."

Sure it would eliminate the possibility of Reigns as the "face" of the company but I don't see that panning out anyway tbh... I don't see many problems with this but maybe you guys do?

Would you want to see Roman Reigns as the next Heyman guy?

If so, does a swerve at Mania appeal to you?

This is a scenario I have thought about for a while also.

I'd probably do it a bit differently booking-wise...in that provided Lesnar is indeed leaving post-Mania RAW, I'd have Brock Lesnar himself give Roman Reigns his blessing and then Paul Heyman takes over as the new Advocate of the 1 who beat the 1 in 21-1!


The only obstacle is that there has to be a Face waiting to challenge the new Paul Heyman Guy, Roman Reigns.
Also, given my scenario, the build towards the Reigns vs Lesnar Main Event at Mania has to be done in a way that Brock and Heyman come to respect Roman Reigns and thus the acknowledgement of such would happen at the "Annual Smark" Festival RAW Post-Mania with Roman Reigns going Heel.


Long term, it could really help Reigns get over and still keep him in the Main Event scene whilst he improves his Promo and In-Ring aspects, until he is ripe for an organic turn(provided he does well as a Heyman Guy)

 

[lil steroid meat]

Apparently he's been getting acting classes and trying to work on his promo skills. At Survivor Series he kind of improved but he's still doing those corny action movie phrases ("I'm going to make it Reign in this bitch!" ). I guess we'll see his full improvement or lack thereof tonight.

Paul Heyman could definitely make his screen time more entertaining and turning on Brock is a swerve would be a nice surprise and it's a great way to keep Paul on television since after this current WWE stint, Brock will likely go to the UFC for one more run and then call it a career.

He doesn't even necessarily have to be a heel. They really can take the full face potential of Brock/Heyman and give it to Heyman/Reigns, because until the Undertaker thing, Brock was getting cheered just off of how well Heyman sold him.

I'm all for it.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

At this point, being a "Paul Heyman Guy" is a career-killer. I hate to say this, but Cesaro is just a Swiss- Curtis Axel right now. Paul Heyman ruined his momentum!!!!! He did nothing for him to help elevate his career!!!!! I want to see Paul Heyman get swung a 100 rotation swing by Cesaro!!! Enough of that 1 in 21-1 nonsense. The truth is, Mr. Heyman, you are the 1 behind the 1 who is 0-1 in his 1 title defense!!!! That doesn't scream "great managing" to me. Not only that, but Brock Lesnar is actually the underdog in his Royal Rumble title defense. Who would have thought that the guy who ended the greatest steak in all of sports would be an underdog 3 matches afterwards? I despise Paul Heyman!!!!! And that is how I know that he is one of the greatest heels of all-time! When Lesnar leaves, Mr.Heyman, hopefully you can get a full-time client and the WWE doesn't under-utilize your phenomenal talents. The future is coming and one of its brightest star could use your services to help with their career. Imaging if Cesaro was a "Paul Heyman Guy" AFTER Brock Lesnar left?!

 

[Farese12]

At this point, being a "Paul Heyman Guy" is a career-killer. I hate to say this, but Cesaro is just a Swiss- Curtis Axel right now. Paul Heyman ruined his momentum!!!!! He did nothing for him to help elevate his career!!!!! I want to see Paul Heyman get swung a 100 rotation swing by Cesaro!!! Enough of that 1 in 21-1 nonsense. The truth is, Mr. Heyman, you are the 1 behind the 1 who is 0-1 in his 1 title defense!!!! That doesn't scream "great managing" to me. Not only that, but Brock Lesnar is actually the underdog in his Royal Rumble title defense. Who would have thought that the guy who ended the greatest steak in all of sports would be an underdog 3 matches afterwards? I despise Paul Heyman!!!!! And that is how I know that he is one of the greatest heels of all-time! When Lesnar leaves, Mr.Heyman, hopefully you can get a full-time client and the WWE doesn't under-utilize your phenomenal talents. The future is coming and one of its brightest star could use your services to help with their career. Imaging if Cesaro was a "Paul Heyman Guy" AFTER Brock Lesnar left?!

Alright we get it kid, you have a hard on for Cesaro. Heyman had nothing to do with Cesaro losing momentum. This was entirely WWE creatives problem and not giving Cesaro any kind of meaningful program. Heyman is a great talker and is great at pissing the fans off when he talks which is why he is a great heel manager.

And since when the hell was Lesnar ever an underdog?

 

[JBM]

So I had literally just finished typing up a thread with the same premise. You said it better than I did though. (I also asked the mods to delete mine so it doesn't take away from yours).

Anyway...I completely agree and I hope it happens. Roman is cool, but just doesn't do it. Maybe it's the lack of a skillset, maybe it's the bad mic skills, maybe it's both. He's just not a "good guy". He'd be a great villain, all he needs is a mouth piece. Heyman is that guy, and WM is the place to do it.

Last year we had Daniel Bryan's WM moment. This year I think/hope we get RR's and PH's WM moment.

 

[GeTiTT]

As much as i have been thinking that this would be a great idea for heyman to manage reigns. I think in an effort to really sement him as the face of the company he needs this big baby face moment and for at least a year! I really would like to see a bray Wyatt vs roman reigns feud for the summer of 2015! These two really need to be the shining stars to take the torch from cena and Orton. Reigns has time to be that monster heel in his career but now he needs to be the face.. I mean superstar of the year.. Everyone is behind him!

 

[MartialHorror]

That wouldn't really make a lot of sense. Brock has been booked as being too strong for Heyman to turn on him, especially as Heyman tolerated Cesaro's losses (at first). It's too early for Reigns to be a heel and I don't think he'd be a very effective one right now. Remember what happened to Cesaro when WWE botched his face turn? That can easily happen with Reigns.

Remember that heels are designed to either
-Get over enough to become faces
- Be threatening enough to be conquered by someone important.

Even I, wary of Reigns super push, think Reigns can become important as a face. They- as in the WWE- just need to relax and be patient with him.

 

[kadroan]

Pairing Heyman with Reigns would hurt him more than help him. We saw how it worked with Cesaro and Ryback.

For some strange reason, they don't let Heyman put his clients that aren't Brock over like he did when Brock first debuted. Heyman is just an extension of Brock.

Reigns is better off on his own.

 

[rge2010]

If Brock is to leave after Mania 31, then aligning Reigns with Heyman would a) give Heyman something to do and b) help Reigns grow as a character.

I think we could see Heyman screw Lesnar out of the title and in the process make Reigns the biggest heel on the roster.

WWE will always have Cena and Bryan as top babyfaces. Supporting cast members such as Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton. WWE lacks heels - Wyatt and Rollins are both good but I think Wyatt will turn face after Mania if he faces Undertaker.

 

[WimpyKid4Life]

Heyman had nothing to do with Cesaro losing momentum. This was entirely WWE creatives problem and not giving Cesaro any kind of meaningful program. Heyman is a great talker and is great at pissing the fans off when he talks which is why he is a great heel manager.

That is the point of my comment. I made it seem like I was going on a rant of Paul Heyman only to claim that I am a big fan of his and the WWE has under-utilized his phenomal talent. His non-Brock Lesnar pairings lately have been awful because they were just fillers before Brock comes back. Fillers means the clients are eventual left directionless and that is BAD. I stated this about the great Paul Heyman

hopefully you can get a full-time client and the WWE doesn't under-utilize your phenomenal talents. The future is coming and one of its brightest star could use your services to help with their career.

And since when the hell was Lesnar ever an underdog?

Every day we hear Michael Cole tell the WWE Universe "Many thought John Cena had Brock Lesnar beat". Not only that, but the WWE is making it seem like Brock is scared of Cena. That is why Mr.Heyman put pressure on Seth Rollins to beat him at TLC.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I do this a lot in EWRevenge. When I see a guy who lacks in the charisma rating, I pair him up with a manager and BINGO! we have a main eventer!

Unfortunately real life does not work like EWR. Reigns is a good babyface, especially in the ring. The Superman punch and Spear combo gets a very good reaction. Fans get behind him in his matches. Sure, Paul might help him up with promos but I think if he turns, he will have to wrestle a bit differently, which I don't think is needed because you don't need to fix what ain't broke.

And he's getting the job done and will undoubtedly improve. Many superstars were bad on promos when they first started out. Daniel Bryan looked downright uncomfortable around a mic and look how far he's come. Not everybody needs to be The Rock on the mic, and I don't know Reigns has a sincere guy vibe to him.

 

[Navi]

If Brock is to leave after Mania 31, then aligning Reigns with Heyman would a) give Heyman something to do and b) help Reigns grow as a character.

I think we could see Heyman screw Lesnar out of the title and in the process make Reigns the biggest heel on the roster.

WWE will always have Cena and Bryan as top babyfaces. Supporting cast members such as Dean Ambrose and Randy Orton. WWE lacks heels - Wyatt and Rollins are both good but I think Wyatt will turn face after Mania if he faces Undertaker.

This wouldn't work for a number of reasons. First of all, I don't think they're pushing Roman Reigns just so Heyman can have a job. Just being a Heyman guy didn't work for Cesaro. Also it won't help Reigns grow as a character if he can hide behind someone else, like he did Rollins and Ambrose when they were the Shield. He needs to be able to stand on his own two feet and deliver.

You mentioned Cena and Bryan, they are the prime reasons they are pushing Reigns so hard now. Cena isn't getting any younger and he's been in the top spot now for 10 years with good reason, but he can't stay there forever. By all accounts the guy works even when he injured because he is where he is. Bryan has been out for most of this year, and there is no sign when he'll be back. They need a top face, and Reigns is their hand picked boy for the job.

Doubtful that Orton will stay a face for long, and yes there is Ambrose, but they want Reigns not Ambrose to take over Cena's position. Although I think Cena has put himself so far up there, no one will ever take over his spot, nor should they. They tried with Bryan and look what happened to him. Not a lot of wrestlers have the passion for the sport that Cena has, and that's what's needed. I don't think Reigns has it, and I don't think he ever will.

 

[OYDK]

. Daniel Bryan looked downright uncomfortable around a mic and look how far he's come. Not everybody needs to be The Rock on the mic, and I don't know Reigns has a sincere guy vibe to him.

I hear this argument a lot, but Daniel Bryan was still loads better than Reigns is on the mic. Seriously, Reigns can barely get through a two minute promo where although Bryan seemed uncomfortable on the mic, he was still able to cut a decent 5-10 minute promo most nights. Not bashing Reigns, it's just a fact; there is a reason Big Show cut him off before he could say anything last night. He does not have the gift of gab at all imo. And I agree you don't need to be The Rock, but you at least have to be at Benoit/Hart/Goldberg level to be "the guy". You must be able to at least say SOMETHING worthwhile.

This might sound like a rant, but in fact I'm a big RR fan. I just don't see him improving to the point of even being decent on the mic.

 

[steven87gill]

They won't hesitate to turn him heel if they feel it's necessary. I think HHH has final say on what happens with Roman, & won't be a stubborn SOB over the issue that Vince was back in 2006 with Cena, when he desperately needed it. (and even asked for It, at one point)

I don't think there's any danger of Roman being the next Cena, & I don't mean that he won't be the guy, but I mean he won't be the next Cena, meaning he won't be spending the next decade burying the entire roster for the sake of keeping him over.

Remember, he's HHH guy, not Vince's. Also, he's had guys like Batista, Rollins & Ambrose around him. If he starts getting booed, he won't grin like an idiot & say 'I love you guys', he'll turn heel. HHH will make sure of that, he wants his Shield guys to be loved, & understands that a heel turn can often help wipe the slate clean & allow a crowd to fall in love with someone naturally.

 

[L@RISANO]

Pairing Heyman with Reigns would hurt him more than help him. We saw how it worked with Cesaro and Ryback.

For some strange reason, they don't let Heyman put his clients that aren't Brock over like he did when Brock first debuted. Heyman is just an extension of Brock.

Reigns is better off on his own.

The Cesaro-Heyman pairing was done solely to dumb down the momentum the former had built up coming out of Mania, hence they eventually had a quiet seperation without any storyline/feud...


Ryback and Axel failed because I don't think WWE ever planned to put them over in the feud with Punk. That feud between Heyman and Punk was done just so the latter could get his own back on former Manager, Heyman.


So, I wouldn't say that Roman Reigns would fail in a pairing with Heyman at all, given he'd already have hype by the time they team up...

 

[kadroan]

The Cesaro-Heyman pairing was done solely to dumb down the momentum the former had built up coming out of Mania, hence they eventually had a quiet seperation without any storyline/feud...


Ryback and Axel failed because I don't think WWE ever planned to put them over in the feud with Punk. That feud between Heyman and Punk was done just so the latter could get his own back on former Manager, Heyman.


So, I wouldn't say that Roman Reigns would fail in a pairing with Heyman at all, given he'd already have hype by the time they team up...

I could see that (referring to Cesaro/Heyman). It's sad they didn't take advantage of Cesaro's new popularity. New star = more money.

Axel was interesting. He had the size and talent, he's just boring. I was surprised HHH put Axel over then they just stopped with Axel after he won the IC Championship. Ryback pairing with Heyman was awkward. I recall it was exciting to see Ryback turn on Cena the RAW after WM 29. It's just, just like Cena made Ryback look weak, same with Punk. Ryback looked stronger without Heyman in 2012, with Heyman he looked like enhancement talent like Kane and Show.

Yeah, Reigns' resume would be more stacked than Ryback, Axel and Cesaro but who's to say Heyman would put over Reigns as the next big thing like he did for Brock when he first debuted. I'd hate it for Reigns if didn't put over Reigns like he didn't do for Cesaro, just kept mentioning how Brock ended The Streak.

 

[L@RISANO]

I could see that (referring to Cesaro/Heyman). It's sad they didn't take advantage of Cesaro's new popularity. New star = more money.

Axel was interesting. He had the size and talent, he's just boring. I was surprised HHH put Axel over then they just stopped with Axel after he won the IC Championship. Ryback pairing with Heyman was awkward. I recall it was exciting to see Ryback turn on Cena the RAW after WM 29. It's just, just like Cena made Ryback look weak, same with Punk. Ryback looked stronger without Heyman in 2012, with Heyman he looked like enhancement talent like Kane and Show.

Yeah, Reigns' resume would be more stacked than Ryback, Axel and Cesaro but who's to say Heyman would put over Reigns as the next big thing like he did for Brock when he first debuted. I'd hate it for Reigns if didn't put over Reigns like he didn't do for Cesaro, just kept mentioning how Brock ended The Streak.

Assuming Brock would probably be out of the picture by then given his contract, I'm pretty sure Heyman would be hyping his client big time, whoever it is(in this case, Reigns.)


That said; Reigns got huge reactions at both TLC and on RAW last night.
Now, he has to bring it in the ring, if he is to sustain this newfound momentum he has got, with the casuals seemingly behind him in force for sure.
His Mic Work needs improvement, but anyone who listened to Reigns pre-injury and now, can see that his delivery style has improved, but the heavily scripted nature of his promos are hurting him, thus, his promos need to definitely be short and sweet and hopefully he will improve as time goes on like Batista and Orton did.

 

[kadroan]

Assuming Brock would probably be out of the picture by then given his contract, I'm pretty sure Heyman would be hyping his client big time, whoever it is(in this case, Reigns.)


That said; Reigns got huge reactions at both TLC and on RAW last night.
Now, he has to bring it in the ring, if he is to sustain this newfound momentum he has got, with the casuals seemingly behind him in force for sure.
His Mic Work needs improvement, but anyone who listened to Reigns pre-injury and now, can see that his delivery style has improved, but the heavily scripted nature of his promos are hurting him, thus, his promos need to definitely be short and sweet and hopefully he will improve as time goes on like Batista and Orton did.

That would be great, if Brock is no longer under contract with WWE so there's no reason to ever say Brock's name again.

That's true.

He's definitely improved. Hopefully his attitude of soaking up things (knowledge) backstage from the more established stars attitude doesn't go away. I can definitely see the influence of The Rock in him, with his promos.